


bruises

by miscellanium



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Arguing, Catharsis, Character Study, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, M/M, Romantic Friendship, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-07 07:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6792241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miscellanium/pseuds/miscellanium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It feels like there's something Yuuya should say to control the wildfire blazing in those grey eyes yet the words aren't coming to him so he just sits there, looking down at his hands and waiting for his friend's palpable rage to burn out. But soon Shingo jumps to his feet like a boxer recovering from a blow, seething as he shoves his chair back.</p><p>[sawatari shingo is more than his losses.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	bruises

**Author's Note:**

> i keep seeing one-sided sawayuu. i keep seeing shingo being treated like a joke. i'm tired

People still laugh behind Shingo's back. He can hear them when he walks by and when he's with Yuuya it cuts deeper. There goes the prodigy with the loser, why didn't Sakaki Yuuya pick somebody who's more of an equal, and so on. At least it's a distraction from the usual murmurs about Yuuya's father and most of the time the casual cruelty is easily brushed off as jealousy. It's the life of a public figure, they both know this; the more visible you are the more people want to shove you back down. Today, though, Shingo woke up cranky after a bad dream and one of the people was a little too loud so now he's got hold of the offender's shirt with his fist, threatening to bring the wrath of the government down upon him.

"Yeah, yeah, you're the son of the next mayor, we know. But what has he done for the city? Has he done anything that hasn't been self-serving?" The guy smirks, tossing his head a little. "He's deluding himself and so are you. A pioneering duelist like Sakaki Yuuya would never—"

Yuuya grabs Shingo's arm in time. "He's not worth it! Forget him." There's a certain strength in the muscles taut beneath those clothes, a vicious energy he's not felt like this since they first met. It's almost enough to frighten him into letting go yet it's by holding on that the two of them have gotten this far—

Shaking Yuuya off with a huff, Shingo scowls and relaxes his grip. "You better watch out for my friends!" But the guy's already running away so he ends with a mumbled "They're bigger than you." Even as he reminds himself of his friends' love for him it becomes another suggestion that he can't do anything of worth on his own, another cut.

Yuuya watches him, waiting for his shoulders to relax again. Before the interruption they were going to a nearby arcade for one of their regular outings, somewhere between a playdate and a romantic date, and there's been problems before like unexpected closures or an absurdly long line but Shingo's gotten somewhat better about rolling with the setbacks. Any minute now he'll make some flippant remark the way he usually does to try and erase the bad mood. Any minute. Yet the quiet drags on so Yuuya tries to get a better look at Shingo's face but he looks away, eyes wet and lips pressed tight.

"Sawatari—"

"Don't you start!" He snaps. "I've had enough disrespect for one day. Let's go." Hands clenched again, he sets off without looking back.

They walk in silence the rest of the way to the arcade, Shingo's jaw visibly tensing whenever somebody glances at them. At first it just seems like one of his usual temporary bad moods, where whatever the offense was is soon forgotten and filed away with the rest of his grudges to be dealt with in a later that never comes. But he's got his hands shoved into his pockets and goes right past his favorite game, the electronic darts he insists on beating Yuuya at whenever they come here, which is how it's clear that this time the bruise is deeper.

A table all the way in the back is where they end up. The lights are dim here, the crowd noises muffled, and the air is cold yet somehow sticky as though somebody had spilled their soda into a vent. It feels like there's something Yuuya should say to control the wildfire blazing in those grey eyes yet the words aren't coming to him so he just sits there, looking down at his hands and waiting for his friend's palpable rage to burn out. But soon Shingo jumps to his feet like a boxer recovering from a blow, seething as he shoves his chair back.

"I'm so freaking sick of everybody acting like I don't deserve things! Or acting like they're better than me!" On the second word his voice slips into a too-familiar higher register, strained and whiny. If he notices he doesn't show it, his eyes narrow and focused on something beyond himself as he paces.

Yuuya frowns and says, voice quiet, "I don't act like that." This is the wrong thing to say. Shingo snaps his head around, pivoting on his heel quick like a predator.

"Don't think you're not included, Mr. Ooh, I'm The Important One," he says in an affected voice, waving his hands in furious emphasis. "Mr. Sakaki 'Oh no, looks like Sawatari failed _again_ so time for me to step in' Yuuya!" It's almost a mockery of Yuuya's speech patterns but he's a bit too angry to hit the right notes and before Yuuya can realize his indignation enough to serve up a retort Shingo's barreled on, talking like he's continuing a conversation he was having with himself.

"Okay, sure, maybe I was a so-called bully," he says, the air quotes he puts around that word almost as loud as the heels of his dress shoes clicking on the linoleum floor as he angrily starts pacing again. "But it's not like I held a gun to your head or whatever! And I'm an even better person now! People take one part of me and act like that's all I am, as though I weren't the great—"

"Sawatari."

" _Thank_ you. And I have a flawless winning record! It just seems like I lose all the time because you've been dueling more than me lately so of course you'd have more wins—"

"Sawatari!"

"What?!"

"Listen to me. I love you." There's nothing but affection in Yuuya's voice, and maybe concern; the spiteful things Shingo's saying aren't upsetting because he's just lashing out like an injured cat—unpleasant but understandable. "None of that stuff matters because I know you, I know who you are. And who you are is wonderful. I wouldn't change you for anything."

"Of course you wouldn't, I'm a star." The question is in Shingo's eyes, not his voice. He's not that weak. He isn't. There's more he could ask (wants to ask) but Yuuya has got that one expression on his face, the one that answers everything.

Yuuya nods firmly. "A star. You like me because of who I am, not because of anything to do with my father or Pendulum cards. And I like you because of who you are. You're enthusiastic and stubborn and throw all of yourself into whatever you do. I wish I could be so brave sometimes."

Staring at Yuuya with his mouth parted in disbelief, Shingo stops pacing. "Brave? What makes you think you aren't? You've done things I didn't know you had it in you to do! And," he says with a small smile, "You've beaten me in a duel. That's no small feat."

Yuuya returns the smile without saying anything. There's nothing left to be said; they've had similar conversations in the past and will have them again. He allows Shingo these outbursts and Shingo allows him his tears because they both know putting on a happy face only gets you so far. Learning to love yourself in a better way is not easy and so Yuuya gets up and takes his friend's hand to pull him back towards the games, the people, and the light.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading. please leave kudos and/or comments if you can, they mean a lot to me


End file.
